Handlers
From Ultipedia
Handlers are offensive players who have the primary responsibility of initiating and coordinating plays. They are analogous to the quarterback in Canadian/American football. Depending on the offensive strategy, there may be one or several handlers working in conjunction to orchestrate the play.
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[edit] Handler Skills
Handlers are players that are very comfortable handling the disc, hence the name.
Skills Handlers usually excel at include
- Throwing the disc downfield.
- Breaking the force.
- Watching multiple receivers downfeild.
- Making quick decisions.
- Patience
[edit] Positioning
Depending on any given offense, it is typical to see around 2-3 handlers. Also, the amount of cutting a handler will do depends on the team as well. In one extreme, handlers can be dedicated throwers, only cutting to receive a dump pass, while at the other end, handlers can take over the entire offense, only throwing to themselves as they work it up the feild.
Handlers can be determined on the field as the players who "hang back" and aren't as active downfeild as cutters, however, this depends on the playing style of the team.
[edit] Offensive Styles
Teams with strong throwers will probably have thier handlers be more stationary. There are several advantages to such an approach.
- Takes advantage of thier superior throwing to deliver the disc to the cutters downfeild.
- Allows the handlers to rest.
- Gives more space and time to the cutters.
- Takes pressure off cutter's throws.
Teams with very athletic handlers or weak cutters may want to involve the handlers more in the offense.
- The give and go is very hard to defend.
- Takes pressure off the cutters to get open.
- Keeps the disc in the hands of your best players.
- Handler strikes (a player who starts in the handler position, but cuts downfeild) may catch the defense off guard.
[edit] Numbers of Handlers Teams Use
- If a zone defense is expected, an extra handler is usually added to allow for dumping and swinging the disc.
- Against man defense, it depends on the team's playing style. While some teams use 2 handlers, some use 3.
- If a team uses handler strikes, that handler is effectively a cutter until that player returns to thier original positioning.
[edit] Influencing the Defense
Teams with superior handlers can strain a defense in a lot of ways.
- Even with weak cutters, a perfectly placed throw can beat a defender covering a cutter.
- Strong handlers can easily beat a zone defense.
- Strong handlers can control the disc and reset the stall count whenever they need to.
On the other hand, defenses can take advantage of weaker handlers.
- Zone defense is very effective against weak throwers.
- Defenders can poach and squeeze throwing lanes.
- Waiting until high stall counts to throw the disc prevents any flow from being established.
